Bhubaneswar: A day after Odisha government signed an MoU with the Centre for implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) in the state, Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan Tuesday said that thorough investigation will be carried out into the alleged corruption in the BJD government’s Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY).
Addressing the media, Harichandan said, “Despite having BSKY cards, many people were denied the benefits they were entitled to. In several cases, patients were exploited, and hospitals charged bills without any regulation.” “Corruption was widespread, and several individuals connected to the previous government were involved in it. We will be launching a probe into these irregularities,” he added.
The modalities for integrating (AB-PMJAY) with the state government’s Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana (GJAY) were also finalised Monday. The GJAY, formerly known as the BSKY, offers annual cashless treatment up to Rs 5 lakh for male and Rs 10 lakh for female members of a family.
On the other hand, the AB PM-JAY provides health insurance coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh per family every year. With these new arrangements, women beneficiaries will continue to receive the extra `5 lakh in health coverage. Earlier, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Tuesday slammed the previous Naveen Patnaik government for not implementing the ‘Ayushman Bharat’ scheme in the state, alleging that the BJD dispensation had deprived people of benefits of the health insurance programme for its own ‘interest.’